Stars Above by Marissa Meyer, 400 pages

"Stars Above" is book number 4.5 in the Lunar Chronicles young adult sci-fi series.  It is a collection of short stories that mostly consist of back stories about the major characters in the Lunar Chronicles series.
There is also a short story "The Little Android" which is a retelling of "The Little Mermaid" that only tangentially includes one of the characters we know.  There is a nice wrap-up story "Something Old, Something New" about the wedding of two of the characters in the series.  As an added bonus, also included are the first two chapters of the upcoming book from Marissa Meyer "Heartless" that is not part of the Lunar Chronicles series.

Pretty much a must-read for any Lunar Chronicles fan, everyone else can pass it on by.

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler, 237 pages

"Vinegar Girl" is a fun retelling of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew."

Kate Battista is an acerbic, put-upon 29 year old who works at a daycare, basically raises her 15 year-old sister and takes care of the household for her scientist father.

Her father asks even more of her when he requests that she marry his lab assistant, Pyotr Shcherbakov, to keep the young man from being deported.

This is a short and fun book that I recommend to fellow readers of chick lit.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler 293 pgs.

This is not the sort of book I would normally read but it was a book club selection so I started early in case I had to force myself. What a wonderful surprise to discover that not only did I want to keep reading but I that I was enjoying myself immensely.

      After a night of Vodka and Austen, Courtney—a present day, modern woman—wakes up in Regency England in the body of another woman where she has to pretend, at the risk of being sent to an asylum, that she is Jane Mansfield and not Courtney. And if that isn’t bad enough she has to contend with an angry, bitter mother who wants to marry her off, a fall off her horse that requires bloodletting as the cure, and a world where bathrooms, let alone toilets have yet to be invented.

      This is a funny, inventive, and highly entertaining read. But a note of caution. You should probably read this one without expectations and with the knowledge that not all your questions will be met with answers. But not to worry. I heard just recently that a sequel exists that could tie up the loose ends.

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman, 384 pages

Alice Hoffman is an author I've always intended to read, but never had so "The Museum of Extraordinary Things" is my first Alice Hoffman book.

The story is primarily set in 1911 in New York City and Coney Island and is a gritty tale of life for the not rich or famous. The two main characters are Coralie Sardie, a young woman with a birth defect that her father exploits and Ezekial "Eddie" Cohen, a Ukranian immigrant who has left the Jewish community he grew up in. Coralie's father owns the Museum of Extraordinary Things, a small museum on Coney Island.

Not surprisingly, Coralie and Eddie's stories intersect. There are some real events that are depicted in the novel, such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the Dreamland fire on Coney Island. Alice Hoffman is an excellent writer, but I found myself thinking, "I am going to be very disappointed if this ends badly for Coralie and Eddie." Don't worry, it doesn't, but it takes a good while and plenty of sorrow to get there.

Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington 278 pages

Reminiscent of The Lovely Bones, equal parts ghost story, mystery, fantasy, and love story--and oh what a love story it is--Liv, Forever is a glorious debut guaranteed to stay with you long after the last page is read.

Olivia Bloom, Liv for short, is beside herself when she receives a scholarship for the most prestigious prep school in the country, Wickham Hall. After years in the foster system she sees it as her way up and out. Within weeks she meets Gabe a fellow scholarship student and Malcolm president of the student government and for the first time in her life Liv is happy and feeling the possibilities. And then outrageously and tragically and God-why-did-you-have-to-do-that, it all comes to an end. And that's when the story really starts. If you only read one book this has to be the one.

Oh Liv!